How to make cat stress disappear

Cats certainly aren’t the most communicative of all animals but it is sometimes possible to pick up levels of stress in our pets. Whether it’s something small like a change in your animal’s behaviour, or something more telling like an illness such as feline cystitis, there are a number of signs which can lead us to see when our cat is stressed.

Of course, all cat owners are keen to keep the stress of their pets to a minimum.

Here, we take a closer look at cat stress and how our pets can become stressed as well as considering a few strategies for dealing with this common problem, if and where it occurs.

Co-habitation

Cats can fluctuate between appearing to be anti-social and yearning for love and attention. One consequence of this inconsistency is that owners rarely know when their cats want company, or of what kind.

The truth is that most cats are very solitary animals by nature and they can easily become stressed when forced to share a living environment with other animals or people.

While almost half of all cat owners own more than one cat, this isn’t necessarily a good idea. The presence of other cats in the home can be stressful and some felines may react negatively to having a contender for their territory.

Ensuring that each animal has their own distinct area to sleep – personal cat bed – and other individual items such as toys, food bowls and water bowls, can all help give cats ownership and stop them from feeling stressed by the presence of other animals in their home.

It’s also worth knowing that cats will get on better with animals they have grown up with so if your household is determined to have more than one cat then it is wise to choose cats from the same litter rather than to bring cats together later in their lives.

Neutering

It’s not only the presence of other cats which can be stressful for your pet but the behaviour of other animals can also cause problems.

Cats are notoriously sexually active and this can be another cause for stress. Female cats might be pursued by male cats in the neighbourhood, while tom cats often fight when there’s a female around. Put cats of opposite sexes together in one house and you could be breeding a recipe for disaster!

Having cats neutered is a simple way to dodge the stressful circumstances that can often be brought up by their attempts to mate with others in their immediate vicinity.

Of course, this can also help to avoid the many complications and costs which can accompany a cat’s pregnancy and is something worth considering. The procedure can be performed on both male and female cats.

Females are ‘spayed’ to stop them getting pregnant while males are neutered to prevent pregnancy and also stopping them from spraying to mark their territory – something which can leave an unpleasant aroma in your home and lead to fights between them and other toms.